AFN of Kazakhstan has characterized the republic's accumulative pension system as of March 1

/IRBIS, Andrey Tsalyuk, March 17, 04/ - Kazakhstan agency for regulation and supervision of financial market and financial organizations (AFN) in its scheduled press-release dedicated to the condition of the republic's financial market has characterized the country's accumulative pension system as of March 1 of 2004. AFN's message says in February no considerable changes occurred at Kazakhstan pension service market. Licenses for conducting of activity concerned with attraction of pension fees and making of pension payments to accumulative pension funds were not given, branches and representatives were not opened. As of March 1 of 2004 16 accumulative pension funds functioned in Kazakhstan, they have 72 branches and 73 representatives in the republic's regions. Investment management of pension assets of accumulative pension funds were carried out by 10 organizations, 2 of them were accumulative pension funds, which had licenses for independent management of pension assets: SAPF CJSC and APF of Halyk Bank of Kazakhstanа JSC. Besides, 2 organizations have no pension assets in management (PAMC Ak niyet CJSC and OCMIPA ALFA- TRUST JSC). Number of depositors (recipients) on compulsory pension fees as of March 1 of 2004 was 6,289,432 persons. In February of this year number of depositors paying compulsory pension fees rose by 65,620 persons (1%). Regarding voluntary pension fees number of depositors (recipients), having increased in February of 2004 by 372 persons, equaled by March 1 of 2004 to 27,970 depositors, on whose individual pension accounts there are KZT305.6 m. of pension accumulations. Payers of voluntary professional pension fees are absent. AFN informs that growth rate of pension fees cost, having reached the peak in the second year of pension reform, in 2000-2002 became stable at 30% in the average about APF and, having fallen to 14% in 2003, in the past two months of this year was negative (in the average -1%). In most APF growth of the cost of pension fees, which came in the moment of corresponding APF foundation, exceeds inflation for similar period, that in AFN's opinion, means some reserve of solidity, which appeared in more favorable period. The press-release says pension accumulations, having increased in February of 2004 by KZT9.5 bn. (2.6%), as of March 1 of 2004 reached KZT378.9 bn. They grew in January-February of this year by KZT10.6 bn. Sum of net investment income as of March 1 did not exceed KZT98.1 bn. In January-February of this year this indicator fell by KZT1.1 bn. This, in AFN's opinion, was caused by rather big stake of securities denominated in US dollar (20.49%) and in euros (4.77%) in funds' investment portfolios. Information about falling of market rate of US dollar against tenge according to National Bank's data in January since KZT144.22 to KZT139.41, euro - rom KZT180.23 to KZT172.41, is given as the explanation. Stake of net investment income in total sum of pension accumulations by the beginning of March was 25.9%. According to AFN's data, weighted average coefficient of real income on pension assets of accumulative pension funds for February of 2003 - February of 2004 equaled to -0.73%. [2004-03-17]